J.W. Hulme Co, which manufactures leather bags and other products, with Chairman Chuck Bidwell and President Jen Guarino, in the leather room where pieces are stamped and cut, at their St. Paul factory on September 29, 2010. (Pioneer Press: Scott Takushi )

Luba Evarts sews a pocket for an American Heritage Leather envoy bag, at J.W. Hulme Co, in St. Paul, on September 29, 2010. (Pioneer Press: Scott Takushi )

The Classic Oxford Field Briefcase, Untraveled, from J.W. Hulme Co, which manufactures leather bags and other products, photographed in St. Paul, on September 29, 2010. (Pioneer Press: Scott Takushi )

Overnight Briefcase, in the American Heritage Leather line from J.W. Hulme Co, which manufactures leather bags and other products, photographed in St. Paul, on September 29, 2010. (Pioneer Press: Scott Takushi )

Barneys New York sets trends for the fashion elite. The boutique department store is known for showcasing edgy, up-and-coming designers from Milan and Tokyo, but this fall, a couple of its favorites are century-old companies from Duluth and St. Paul.

“Heritage” is the current fashion buzzword. The recession prompted trendsetters to back away from avant-garde and revisit classic, durable goods made in America. Suddenly, fishermen and oil riggers are walking in the same boots as fashion-conscious advertising executives. The trend has been especially fortuitous for Minnesota companies such as Red Wing Shoes and Duluth Pack. And it brought back St. Paul bag manufacturer J.W. Hulme from the brink of bankruptcy.

Just a year after letting go of almost its entire staff, the 105-year-old brand was picked up by the New York showroom of highly regarded designer Steven Alan. That’s where Barneys discovered it, and ordered J.W. Hulme for more than 30 Barneys stores in New York and nationwide. The brand has been featured in fall fashion spreads of major magazines and was profiled by the Wall Street Journal.

J.W. Hulme’s humble West Seventh Street manufacturing plant is far removed from the glamorous world it now serves, but the impact of the cosmic shift is apparent: 22 employees have been hired back. A new division has been created for “heritage” leather — all hand-buffed and sold for around double the price of standard leather models — $940 for an overnight briefcase; $290 for the travel kit. The company expects to do $2.5 million in sales this year, up from $1 million last year, said Jen Guarino, co-owner and president.

Duluth Pack, maker of canvas bags originally designed as portage packs for canoers, is also enjoying the ride. The 128-year-old company produced a navy wool version of its $85 canvas utility bag that now sells for $285 at Barneys. Duluth Pack also was commissioned to create a special bag for Urban Outfitters.

“In a recession, it’s been what has kept our head above water,” Duluth Pack spokeswoman Molly Solberg said. The company has hired 10 workers to keep up with the demand from the fashion industry.

For Red Wing Shoes, lifestyle purchases — meaning those spurred by fashion rather than function — now account for 30 percent of the business, and the category is growing fast. Red Wing was the first heritage brand picked up by hotshot retailer J. Crew, a partnership that has significantly boosted the boot maker’s cool factor.

Red Wing Chief Executive David Murphy equates his brand to Paul Newman: “He didn’t try to be cool; he just was.”

Red Wing Shoes has learned the hard way to stick to what it does best: durable work boots. “Frankly, our first two years in the lifestyle business, we stumbled with product that wasn’t who we were,” Murphy said. “Women’s pumps, flats — I don’t even know what to call them. In a melon color. What were we thinking?”

These days, Red Wing does not try to be fashionable. The company doesn’t seek out magazine placement or pay celebrities to wear its shoes. Murphy didn’t know Tom Cruise wore Red Wings on the cover of Esquire magazine this summer until he happened to pick up a copy.

“Do I want spiky-haired weird folks on the runway wearing our boots? I’m not disturbed by it, but I don’t care,” Murphy said. “We want to grow as an evergreen. We don’t want to chase what won’t be there in the future.”

The 65-year-old Minnetonka Moccasin is more experienced than some of its fellow Minnesota brands at walking the line between heritage and trend. Its classic suede slip-ons and fringed boots, most of which sell for $35 to $100, have been fixtures in magazines for several seasons running — inspiring countless copycats.

“This fashion cycle has lasted much longer than any other cycle in Minnetonka’s history,” CEO David Miller said. “We know the fashion will eventually move on to something else, but whether we are in a fashion cycle or not, our brand stands for the same thing — comfortable product and exceptional value. That will never change.”

St. Paul men’s store BlackBlue is at the epicenter of the heritage trend, offering the aforementioned Minnesota labels along with other classics such as Woolrich and Penguin that are suddenly hip.

Kang’s customers range from college kids who like the retro sneakers to businessmen who are replacing their loafers with Red Wing boots to an 87-year-old man who recently bought Tretorn shoes and a Pendleton tribal-patterned cardigan.

“It’s the look,” Kang said, “but also the quality.”

Tough times have forced consumers to more carefully consider every purchase, and that’s been a boon to heritage brands, said J.W. Hulme’s Guarino. The first thing she and partner Chuck Bidwell did when they bought the flagging company seven years ago was start telling its story to consumers seeking that connection. But perhaps the most beneficial decision, made before Americana hit the runways, was to keep all manufacturing in the United States.

“We still have our very tried-and-true older customers who believe in ‘Made in the U.S.A.,’ and now that message is catching on with younger people,” Guarino said. “They’re realizing they can and should support local companies, and they don’t have to sacrifice fashion to do it.”

J.W. Hulme will expand manufacturing next year to its long-empty lower level. The company is coming out with a leather iPad case and expanding its women’s handbag collection.

“Americana is a trend,” Guarino said. “But it is creating a new category of quality goods that is going to stay.”

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